Truck.



PATENTED APR. 21, 1903.

T. W. DAVIS, JR. TRUCK.

' APPLIOATION FILED JULY 30, 1902.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1 N0 MODEL.

ATTORNEY No. 725,828. L PATENTED APR. 21, 1903.

T. W. DAVIS, JR.

TRUCK APPLlCiATION FILED JULY 30, 1902.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

H0 MODEL.

nl l l l l l l l I l I III III lllllll WITNESSES :Rsco,wuorc-umouwasnmo'ron u c UNTTEn STATES PATENT OFFICE.

THOMAS WV. DAVIS, JR., OF ELIZABETH, NEW JERSEY, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TOWVILLIAM II. THORNTON, OF ELIZABETH, NEW JERSEY.

TRUCK.

srnornroazrron forming part of Letters Patent No. 725,828, dated April21, 1903.

Application filed July 30,1902.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, THOMAS W. DAVIS, Jr., a citizen of the UnitedSiates,residing at Elizabeth, Union county, and State of New Jersey,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Trucks, of whichthe following is a full, clear, and exact description.

My invention relates to improvements in trucks, and particularly to thatclass generro ally termed hand-trucks.

The object of my invention is to provide a truck which shall be soproportioned and constructed as to facilitate the handling of smallarticles, such as barrels, boxes, and the like.

It consists in the improvements hereinafter to be described and assuggested in the accompanying drawings. The truck will be found to beeconomical in construction and so formed as to occupy but a small spacewhen not in use and adapted to be used with devices of varying sizes andconformation. At the same time the truck is particularly useful inlifting articles of considerable weight with the expenditure of but asmall amount ofenergy as compared with that required in ordinary trucks.Moreover, it is possible by this construction to pick up and transport abarrel or box or the like in such a manner that it may be substantiallyupright and liable but slightly to disturb the equilibrium of thecontents.

In the drawings, Figure l is a perspective view ofa truck embodying myinvention. Fig. 2 is a vertical projection of a truck folded up. Fig. 3is a side elevation of the same. Fig.4 is a modified form of a detail ofconstruction. Fig. 5 is a cross-section of the same on the plane of theline 5 5.

A A are Wheels loosely mounted on the ends of a shaft B.

O C are handle-arms.

D D are lifters or toes projecting from the lower end of the handle-armsand formed integrally therewith or separately therefrom, as desired. Inthe drawings the lower end of the handle arms take into castings N N,which also carry the toes DD.

E E are hooks, preferably movable in relation to the frames F F. Theframes F F are preferably pivoted to the handle-arms O O,

Serial No. 117,725. (No model.)

and the hooks E E are preferably carried by means of a bar J.

H is a handle-bar, which is'preferably provided. In' the particular formshown the hooks are carried byslidingblocksKK,which may be formed ofcast metal,if desired. The frame J is also attached to these blocks; butobviously these parts may be made integral. The frames F F may beconnect-ed by a rod L, which may provide a convenient handle. Thehandle-rod L also tends to strengthen and stiffen the side frames.Between the frames F F and the side or handle arms 0 O are suitablelinks G G, of any desired construction, so that when not in use theframes F F may be folded back toward the arms 0 C to make the structuremore compact.

M is a rod which may connect the links G G and serve in addition toprovide a convenient handle for opening or closing the links.

The lifters D, as well as the hooks E E, are preferably formed of steeland attached, as indicated, by riveting to suitable castings. Thisconstruction, however, is purely preferential.

The members 0 O andF F may be formed of angle-iron, if desired, for thepurpose of increasing their strength.v

In Figs. 4: and 5 I show a modified form of hook to take the place ofthe hook or hooks E.

The modified form comprises a pivoted hook E, which may be weightedtoward its outer end, so that the user can drive the point of the hookinto the box or barrel about to be lifted, as will hereinafter bedescribed. The hook E is preferably pivoted to the bar J, which may ormay not slide upon the arms F, as desired. When the hook E is thrownback, it will rest against the bar J and remain in a convenientposition. The members 0 C, if 0 desired, may be spaced apart, asindicated in dotted'lines, Fig. 2, or may be connected by a handle-barat their free ends. They may each be provided with a handle, so that theoperator may stand between the arms in using 5 the truck. The handlesmay be formed intogrally with the bars, if desired.

In operation the truck is wheeled forward, and the toes D D are thrustup to the object to be lifted-for example, a barrel. The toes D I00 Dare thus thrust into contact with the side of the barrel near the lowerend. The hooks E E are then dropped down into contact With the top ofthe barrel to properly grasp the same. The operator may then supplysufficient power to lift the barrel from the floor, the toes D D tendingto elevate the same and the hooks E E tending to pull the same backslightly without substantially disturbing its vertical or uprightposition. When lifted off the floor, the barrel may be transported fromplace to place in the usual way without tilting the same to anysubstantial extent out of the upright position. Abox or other objectwould be picked up and transported in substantially the same way. Thetoes D D being spaced apart are particularly adapted for lifting barrelsand the like and in this case will grasp or contact with the barrel onopposite sides of the center near the lower end. Hence when the barrelis lifted it is more perfectly balanced and held against tilting. Bymaking the hooks E E slidable the truck is adapted for use in liftingbarrels or boxes of various sizes.

In the modified form of hook shown in Figs. 4 and 5 the hook E is placedin the center of the bar J and by its weight may" be thrown forwardreadily by the operator, so as to drive the point into the barrel or boxand secure the same firmly in position. By the use of the toes D D it isnot necessary to tilt the barrel away from the truck preparatory tolifting it, as is generally done with trucks having a fiat or bluntlifter. The toes D D being sharpened may be driven into the side of thebox or barrel and secure a sufficiently stronghold, so that when thehooks E E are thrown into place the operator may readily by the leverageafforded by the truck lift the barrel off the floor and move it about tothe desired position.

What I claim is 1. A truck having a pair of wheels, handlearms pivotallyconnected thereto, a frame mounted on said arms near the wheels andextending upward therefrom, a hook carried by the frame and movablerelatively thereto, a lifter, said hook and lifter being adapted tocooperate, substantially as described.

2. A truck having a pair of wheels, handlearms rotatably mounted at thelower ends thereof, a frame pivoted to said handle-arms, a lifter, ahook carried by said frame but movable with respect thereto, and hingedconnecting-links between said frame and said handle-arms.

3. A truck having wheels, handle-arms, sharp-pointed lifters below thecenter of the wheels, a frame pivotally carried by the bandle-arms and ahook carried by the said frames movable relatively thereto and adaptedto coact with the lifters.

t. A hand-truck having a pair of wheels, means for picking up andsupporting a load, and a sliding bar and a hook carried therebyindependent of the handles of the truck for .holding the load in asubstantially upright .position.

5. A truck having wheels, handles, a lifter, pivoted frames F F, asliding cross-bar J, and a cant-hook carried thereby, substantially asdescribed.

Signed at Elizabeth, New Jersey, this 23d day of July, 1902.

THOMAS \V. DAVIS, J R.

Witnesses:

JOHN F. BROWN, WM. E. BROWN.

